Security microprocessors or modules are relied upon in many host devices, such as broadband cable, satellite, and internet protocol television receivers, for example. Although specific features may vary among security module variants, a security module generally comprises a dedicated, separate, microprocessor that incorporates and/or executes security features and functions such as keyladder, secure hash algorithm (SHA), keyed-hashing for message authentication (HMAC), and Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman (RSA) functions, among others. A security module may also provide specific security features for certain conditional access service (CAS) and digital rights management (DRM) services.
Generally, host devices are not permitted access to implementation and processing details (e.g., registers, memories, intermediate results, etc.) of security modules. Thus, security may be enhanced by the use of security modules. However, security modules may be relatively limited in computational power and memory. A typical security command cycle for a security module may take milliseconds of processing time, which is a relatively long time, especially compared to the rate at which host processors execute instructions.